


In The Forest, In The Snow...

by Clea2011



Category: Primeval
Genre: Christmas, First Time, Holidays, M/M, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-22
Updated: 2013-02-22
Packaged: 2017-12-03 07:07:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/695571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clea2011/pseuds/Clea2011
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was a secret santa fic on Primeval Denial with the prompts 'Blood in the Snow and Wintery or Holiday Setting, hurt/comfort is always nice.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Forest, In The Snow...

Winter came early that year. 

All the leaves had fallen from the trees by the start of November.  They were turned to a brownish pulp by the storms before December hit.  And then a cold front came in from Siberia, swept across Europe, and froze the streets of Britain.  Unfortunately it didn't have the same effect on the anomalies, and for the ARC team it was business as usual.

To start with, it wasn't so bad.  Captain Becker had ordered that winter tyres be put on all the ARC vehicles, including staff members private cars.  Whilst there was only ice, that helped a little with the chance of skidding.  Later, when there was the risk of a first snowfall, he had a plough brought in that could be attached to one of the trucks if they needed it.  Connor could hardly wait to try it out, and checked the Met Office website every day in the hope that snow would be forecast again.   Most days he was disappointed, and even when there was a light snowfall one day in mid-December the anomalies didn't co-operate and the snow plough remained in the ARC.  Connor tried to get Becker to let him take it out anyway, but the new Captain just scowled at him.

It was Becker's first winter in his new posting.  He had been contemptuous of the job at first - babysitting a group of scientists was hardly the stuff brilliant army careers were made of.  And when he'd been told about the dinosaurs he had laughed and almost walked out, thinking he was on the receiving end of a regimental prank.

It wasn't a joke.  After nearly four months, Becker wasn't finding it funny.  There were lots of things that contributed to that, but the main one was the clearly insane ex-wife of the project leader.  The ex-project leader, because the deranged woman had got past Becker and his men (twice) and managed to not only blow up half the ARC, but also murder her husband, whom Becker had been charged with protecting.  And she appeared to be flitting in and out of timelines, producing adult clones of people, and doing a hundred and one other impossible things before breakfast. 

Becker was a practical man, and had more trouble than he liked to admit getting his head around the very idea of the anomalies.  How Helen or anyone else was willing to actually go through the things was beyond him.  He had no intention of trying it if he could help it.  Captain Ryan had been killed on the other side of one of those rips in time.  The scientists hadn't even brought his body back, and from what Becker understood the man had known that when he died.  It didn't make him like the research team very much.  He and his men were not expendable.

The dinosaurs he could cope with.  They were the enemy and needed shooting.  Sometimes, the research team didn't appear to grasp that simple fact and wanted him to chase the lethal things back to where they had come from.  Or worse, they kept them locked up, hoping to be able to send them home later.  He knew who would be packing them up and transporting them to the anomaly, and then herding them through if that opportunity ever arose.  It wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to.   At least, so far, Abby hadn't insisted on keeping a T-Rex as a pet in her private zoo.  But it was only a matter of time.  He was just grateful that the one they had already encountered had managed to get home.  Danny Quinn was useful for something, after all.

Nick Cutter had been annoying, but Quinn was worse.  The man seemed to be making it his business to find holes in Becker's security systems and the worst thing was that sometimes he was succeeding.  He was marginally better than having one of Christine Johnson's men in charge, but it was a small margin as far as Becker was concerned.  Ex-police officers were not trained soldiers, no matter how close they thought they were to it.  Not the same thing at all.

Jenny, at least, had been okay.  She was brave and relatively calm, and for the most part kept herself out of danger.  A pity then, that she had left.  Sarah Page was a bit of a liability, having little idea about security or anything else apart from Egyptian history.  He was never quite sure what her contribution was supposed to be, but she appeared to be kept busy enough by it.

Finally, there was Connor Temple.  If Sarah was a liability, Connor had her beaten tenfold.  If there was a creature in the area, Connor would be sure to find it and position himself in the perfect place to be a target.  The only thing that surprised Becker about Connor now was that he was still alive.  After the incident with the T-Rex, that was nothing short of a miracle.  (It was apparently some other lettered-Rex, but it looked close enough to a T-Rex for Becker.  There were plenty of science nerds around who could give these things their exact title.)  Despite this, Becker found Connor the most bearable of them.  Now that Cutter was gone, Connor was the lead scientist, so had a definite reason to be there.  He was ridiculously intelligent, despite every appearance to the contrary, and had invented some gadget that could lock the anomalies and had the potential to make Becker's job a little less deadly.  Now he was working on something else, something he thought might allow them to open new anomalies as well as close them, based on the locking device.  Becker doubted there would be much point to that, they had quite enough anomalies without needing any more opened up.  But Connor was determined.  Or, at least he was when he wasn't looking out for a snowstorm.

On Christmas Eve, Connor was still hoping for snow.  On Christmas Day, he got his wish.

Anomalies didn't celebrate Christmas, or any other holiday, and were just as likely to open up while members of the team were carving up their turkey as they were at any other time.  Most of Becker's men were at home with their families, but he'd put enough of them on call that any creature incursion could be covered.  He would be staying on duty, and he thought he could probably handle any anomalies by himself anyway.  Most of the ARC staff had left for Christmas, at home or visiting family, or just getting as far away from the anomalies as they possibly could.  Those few that remained were mostly lab technicians who were engrossed in their work and unlikely to emerge for days.  It was, in fact, quite pleasant.  No inane chatter in the canteen because nearly all the office staff were gone.  No new pets for Abby to cause additional danger with because she was off visiting her brother.  No snarky comments from Lester, who was off visiting his children.  No security checks from Danny, who was... Actually, Becker wasn't quite sure where Danny had gone.  He would have to keep an eye out, just in case.  All the animals in the menagerie were safely under lock and key.  It was nice and quiet, and he could sit in the armoury cleaning his favourite shotgun.  Except...

"Snow!"

Connor Temple, it seemed, didn't have any plans for Christmas apart from ones which involved hanging around the ARC.  He had been engrossed in his new project, but now he was bounding happily into the armoury like an overexcited puppy.

"It's snowed!  All day!  We can use the plough!"

"There's no anomaly, Connor.  And I'm busy."

Lately, Becker had tried to spend a little less time around Connor for a number of reasons, but mostly because those dark eyes were far more distracting than they really should be on someone like Connor.  He was a geek and seemed to be living with Abby anyway, and besides, Becker liked them a lot bigger and tougher than Connor.  Or he thought he did, anyway.   Sometimes, lately, he wondered.

Unabashed, Connor continued on.  "We could at least clear the car park."

"It's underground."

"The entrance."

"No.  I'll use it if an anomaly opens.  Only then."  Becker tried to turn his attention back to the shotgun.

Right on cue, almost suspiciously so, the ADD went off and Connor grinned.  "Sounds like an anomaly to me!"

Becker narrowed his eyes.  "Did you just set that off deliberately?"

Connor looked wounded.  "No!" he said indignantly.

"I'll go.  You'd better stay here, I can't watch you and the dinosaurs."

"You'll need backup."

"You're not backup.  You're a..." He almost said liability, which was what he was thinking, but he saw the hurt look on Connor's face after the backup comment and amended what he was going to say to: "...a scientist.  I need military."

"I can lock the anomaly for you.  And drive the truck with the plough!"

"You're not driving the truck."

"Just for a few minutes?"

"No."

"On the way back, after we've closed the anomaly?"

"Maybe."

"Excellent!" Connor grabbed one of the guns, and Becker quickly took it from him.  "What?  I'll need one."

"You're not coming."

"Uh, I am, you just said you might let me use the plough on the way back.  Gun, please."

Becker wasn't quite sure how he had agreed to Connor coming along, but he gave up the argument.  He picked out a different gun.  "Okay.  This one.  And you're not touching it until we get there.  And for God's sake don't aim it at me!"

***

Connor Temple was a genius.  Sometimes Becker had to remind himself of that fact.  It was one of those times.

All the way to the anomaly site he'd been chattering about the plough, trying to get Becker to use it on the thin layer of snow that had fallen in the car park.  When they got out of central London and the snowfall was heavier he tried again.  But the M3 was mercifully clear, and there was no way Becker was going to turn off just to appease Connor.  Becker failed to see the fascination of the thing. Perhaps if they had been in one of the Scandinavian countries, and had a chance of a decent amount of snow to move he might have been more interested.  But really, Connor and his chatter and his proximity were more than Becker wanted to deal with.  He drove quickly, helped by the fact that most of the roads were clear of cars due to the weather and the fact that it was Christmas Day.  It would be getting dark in a few hours.  He hoped they would reach the New Forest and seal the anomaly before that happened.  If there were any creatures that had got through, it would be difficult to find them after dark.

Connor was starting to talk about the science of snow now, about a condensation nucleus and ice crystals, and that was enough for Becker.  He really hated it when the scientists started talking at him.  Connor in particular, who seemed so young but was apparently a year older than Becker, was not someone he wanted to be lectured by.  It reminded Becker how smart the other man was in comparison to himself, and made him feel a little inadequate.  He cut Connor off in mid-sentence.

"Why are you here?"

"What?" Connor gaped at him, with that expression he had which made him look anything but a genius.  "Well... to close the anomaly and ... you said it was okay."

"No, why are you in the ARC on Christmas Day?  I'm on duty, I don't have any choice.  What's your excuse?"

Connor just looked at him, surprised by the question.  Becker got the impression that it wasn't one he particularly wanted to answer.  He pushed a little more:

"You've got family."

"Not really.  There was... a problem a few years ago.  We don't talk much now."

"A problem?"

Connor grimaced.  "I told them something I shouldn't have done.  I was leaving for uni anyway.  It doesn't matter.  They send a card, some money.  I see Mum sometimes.  Dad won't speak to me."

Becker glanced at him curiously.  He knew he should leave it, could see Connor wasn't happy talking about it, but he couldn't help it, he was intrigued as to what on earth the inoffensive young man could possibly have done to cause such a rift.  Connor struck him as the sort of son a mother would totally dote on, geeky and awkward. 

"What did you tell them?"

Connor gave a short, bitter laugh.  "You think I'll tell you so you can start despising me as well?  No thanks!"

"Sorry."

Connor shrugged, and turned away, staring out of the window.  His earlier bright mood was gone.  Becker wondered just how bright it had really been, whether half the time Connor's cheery geek boy persona was just an act, and what he was seeing now was for the first time the real Connor.  He found the geek boy easier to deal with.

They drove on in silence for a few minutes.  It was Connor who broke it.

"Last year was great.  We all went to Professor Cutter's place, the whole team were there.  Stephen, Cutter, everyone."

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop Helen."

Connor shrugged.  "Not your fault.  The year before that, Duncan, Tom and I all stayed on campus.  That was fun too.  They were my friends.  Tom got infected by a parasite that came through..."

"I know.  I read the reports.  I'm sorry about your friend."

"Duncan blames me.  He won't see me.  Best thing for him, probably."

Not so great for Connor though, Becker thought.  He didn't know what to say, three attempts at comfort were two more than he usually attempted, so he said nothing, just drove.  Connor stayed staring out of the window, just as he had all the time he had been talking.  They travelled in silence for a while, the scenery flying past in a haze of brown and white.  And then Connor looked back at Becker, regarding him in a manner that made the soldier feel slightly uncomfortable, as if he were being judged in some way.  Perhaps he was, being weighed up to see whether he was worthy of Connor's secret or not.  Becker had plenty of secrets of his own.  He didn't blame Connor at all for keeping quiet.  But he did wonder what it might be that he was hiding.

"Why aren't you with your family?" Connor asked finally.  Becker wasn't sure if he had passed or not.  Probably not. 

He shrugged: "I'm on duty, like I said."

Connor still stared, waiting for more.  Becker wondered why.  Surely the other man had known him long enough now to realise that he wasn't a great conversationalist.  But this was still the new version of Connor, the one he had only just met.  Perhaps Connor thought there was going to be a whole new chatty Becker for him to find.  If that was the case, Connor was going to be very disappointed.

Eventually, Connor gave up and turned back to face the window again.  Becker could feel a chill in the vehicle, and he doubted that it had much to do with the weather.  But he didn't do personal questions.  They all had their secrets.  The silence bore into him.  He almost wanted to hear about the science of snow once again.

They were by-passing Southampton, changing over to the M27.  Not long now before they arrived.

"You'll need to direct me once we get off the motorway," Becker said, breaking the silence. 

Connor reached for his holdall and pulled out his laptop.  He worked for a few minutes, frowning in concentration, then looked up.  "Go right to the end of the motorway, then keep going, don't turn off till we get to a place called Stoney Cross, then head towards Emery Down.  I think the anomaly is just before there.  Maybe another twenty minutes or so?"

Becker nodded.  "Thanks."  There was a danger that they were going to lapse into silence again, so he added: "Maybe I'll let you use the plough when we're done with the anomaly."

Connor gave a little half-smile.  "That'll be good," was all he said.

Another quiet few minutes.  Becker knew he was going to hate himself for doing it, but he couldn't stand the unnatural quiet from Connor.  "Okay," he said.  "I couldn't face another family Christmas.  My two sisters always come along with their children.  They've got five between them, all under ten.  It's two days of sheer hell!"

Connor grinned at him, apparently liking the admission.  "Not a fan of kids?"

"God, they're noisy.  And they seem to think you'll want to join in their games because you're the youngest of the adults and haven't been married off.  Kids are annoying, period, but five of them, for two days..." he shook his head.  "It's grim."

"I'm less annoying?"

"Slightly.  Very slightly."

Connor smiled, settling back in his seat.  "Must be bad."

"Oh, you have no idea."  He mentally kicked himself even as the words came out of his mouth.  Of course Connor had no idea, he could barely remember a family Christmas by the sounds of it and would probably have loved entertaining Kate and Laura's respective broods.  Connor, if things were different, would have been the perfect partner to bring home.  But he was obviously only interested in Abby.  The blonde woman really needed to treat him a bit better.  Connor could've gone over to her brother's place with her.  "I've got this year all planned out.  Soon as my shift finishes, I've got a fridge full of beer and pizza.  And a big sofa with no little brats climbing all over it.  Perfect."

"Pizza for Christmas dinner?"

Becker shrugged.  "Last time I tried buying a turkey dinner for one just before Christmas I had three women invite me to their place for Christmas before I got out of the store."

"Figures.  Must be nice to be irresistible!"

"One of them was the cashier, I think she was joking, but the other two were just scary."

Connor laughed.  "I've just got whatever Abby's left me in the fridge," he admitted. 

"I thought the whole point of living with a woman was that you got well-fed," Becker said, without thinking. 

Connor eyed him curiously.  "Not everyone would agree with you on that being the main reason, mate," he said carefully. 

Becker cursed himself again.  He wasn't ashamed of his sexuality, but he didn't feel the need to broadcast it, especially not to his still very new work colleagues.  And very especially not to Connor, who, if he ever found out, was bound to find some much better nicknames for him than Action Man.   He quickly changed the subject.  "We're coming to the end of the motorway.  Stay alert.  It's been open a while, if anything got through it could be anywhere out here."  He could feel Connor's eyes boring into him again.  "Watch the side of the road, not me!" he snapped, more harshly than he intended, and Connor flinched away.

Sometimes, Becker really hated himself.

***

Their journey through the New Forest was uneventful.  The anomaly detector beeped steadily at them as they drove along, and Connor kept his gaze fixed firmly on the trees and bushes that they passed.  No T-Rex or anything worse had come bounding out for a yuletide snack.  Yet.

They turned off the main road, rattling over a cattle grid, and then they were on a smaller forest road that looked as if it had barely been used that day.  When he indicated that they needed to turn off into an even more remote road, Connor finally got his wish and the plough attachment went into action.

It wasn't particularly exciting.  There were a few inches of snow at most, hardly worth the effort.  Connor looked quite downcast after all the fuss he had made.

"Disappointed?" Becker asked.

"It's not as dramatic as I thought," Connor admitted.  "I wanted... Ah!  Anomaly!" He pointed off to the side, through the trees. 

Becker frowned,  they would have to leave the truck and go on foot.  It was nice and warm in the truck.  The dashboard indicated that it was minus two degrees outside.  He got them as close as he could, then turned off the engine and pulled a heavy jacket around himself.  Connor, he noticed, had not dressed with a great deal of thought to the harshness of the winter weather.  Still, they were unlikely to be out in it for long.

"You set up the locking device, then get back in the truck," he advised.  "I'll check around in case anything got through.  There's probably some gloves in the back."

"And the gun?" Connor asked hopefully. 

"And the gun.  Just don't..."

"...point it at you, I know!  I haven't shot anyone for ages, and that one time with Abby it was only a tranquiliser dart, and you weren't even with us back then."

"I read the report.  And I can imagine it, knowing you."  He slid open the door and got out, looking around.  The good thing about the snowfall was that they were going to be able to tell very easily whether anything had come through or not.  Cautiously he approached the anomaly itself.  As he had feared, there were tracks leading away from it into the trees.  Only one set, and not too large, but he was going to need to go after it.

Becker jogged back to Connor, told him what he had found, then left him to close up the anomaly with strict instructions to get straight back into the truck afterwards and close the doors.  Becker would call him if he needed help.

The creature had gone off into the trees, which made it a little more difficult to track as the snow was thinner there.  Becker ran after it, hoping it would be something non-lethal and vegetarian.  The claw marks within the imprints made that fairly unlikely.

He just hoped Connor would do what he was told and get back in the truck. 

***

Connor Temple was a genius.

The proof of his genius was propped up on the forest floor in front of him, pointed directly at the New Forest anomaly.  It was securely locked, and only would be unlocked if Connor so wished.  Such was his genius.

In his hand was further proof of his brilliance.  For weeks he had been working on a device that would actually open anomalies.  It would be so useful, should one close before they had herded any creatures through it, if they could re-open it again.  It would help the creatures held in the menagerie to get home.   Abby would be pleased, hopefully enough so that she would continue to let him stay at her flat.  She had been making a few noises recently to the effect that she would quite like him to move out.   Anything which delayed that happening had to be good.  He was also quite keen to demonstrate to Becker that he had some use out in the field, because the soldier made it pretty clear that he wasn't remotely impressed with Connor.  There was little Connor would have liked more than to impress Becker.

It was strange how quickly things changed.

One Summer's day he was living happy and loved (or so he thought) in the family home, the next he was off out in the world with his whole life in front of him.  Or in pieces, depending on how you looked at it.

Connor usually tried not to look at it.  But Christmas was always one of those times when he just couldn't help himself.  He missed the old-fashioned family gatherings, even though it was that same old-fashioned attitude that had caused his father to be unable to accept him when he had come out.  He missed being spoiled by his mother, and arguing with his sister, and as much as he pretended otherwise, being with his friends wasn't quite the same.

And then things changed again, the friends changed, the friends died, the friends had their own families to go home to.  This year, Connor had been facing spending the whole holiday alone, with only Rex and the two diictodons for company.  So when he had discovered who was on duty at the ARC over the holiday period, he had no hesitation at all in volunteering to come in and spend the day there.

He should have known better than to crush on someone who looked like Becker did, though.  He was never likely to give the likes of Connor so much as the time of day, even if he did swing that way.  Connor was pretty sure that he did, but he knew it could also just be wishful thinking on his part because he'd made that mistake before and learnt to be careful.  So he had come into the ARC, and then buried himself in his lab, in work, in anything that kept him from facing the real reason he wanted to be there.  But then it had snowed, and he had just rushed in there and received that half-amused, half-despising look  Becker so often gave him, and he knew there could never, ever be anything between them because Becker was just in another league.

Becker was pretty aloof, Connor thought.  He walked around in his tight black uniform, radiating a constant sense of superiority.  He was the sort of person who probably never got things wrong, and was never told to stay away in case they turned things into a disaster zone.  Any moment now he would probably return with a report that the dinosaur was dead, as Abby wasn't around to stop him shooting it.  Connor didn't mind, Becker could and would do exactly as he pleased as far as Connor was concerned, just as long as he could watch.  Because Captain Becker was possibly the most perfect man Connor had ever seen in his entire life.  To say he was handsome didn't do him justice in Connor's eyes.  He was just... yes, perfect was the word.  And now those long, long legs were running through the trees, chasing after that unappreciative dinosaur.  If Connor had been that dinosaur, he would just have let himself be caught.

The anomaly flickered.  It was weakening.  The motion distracted Connor back to what he should be doing, which really should be obeying Becker and getting back in the truck.

He had lost sight of Becker again.  But if he came back with whatever creature it was, expecting to be able to herd it back through the anomaly, he was going to be disappointed.  Or perhaps not, as it would give him an excuse to shoot it.  Not that Becker ever seemed to think that he needed one. 

The anomaly flickered again, and closed.

Connor looked down at his new invention.  It was the perfect testing opportunity.  Glancing around to make sure there was no sign of the creature, he pointed the device at the spot where the anomaly had been. 

"Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself.  Very, very gingerly he switched it on, hardly daring to look.

For a moment nothing happened, and Connor's shoulders slumped in defeat.  He tried hitting the device, shaking it, punching in a few random codes...

A new anomaly burst open right in front of him on the fourth code he tried.  At the back of his mind was the worrying thought that he was never going to be able to remember what that code was, but at that moment it really didn't matter.  The device worked!  It had reopened the anomaly.  Connor gave a loud whoop of excitement, punching the air with his fist. 

He was so caught up in his success that he didn't hear the creature approach until it was far too late.

***

Becker was still tracking the creature.  It appeared to have travelled in a wide circle, never straying too far from the anomaly.  At one point he found the remains of a pony which had obviously been recently killed.  At least that meant the thing had fed, which put them in slightly less danger.  It was just as well, he thought, when he heard Connor celebrating something or other.  The young man had probably got bored and started playing around with the snow plough after all, Becker thought.  Still, at least that meant he must have got back into the truck.  Even Connor wouldn't be foolish enough to make that amount of noise with a creature on the loose unless he was safely shut away.

A moment later he heard a cry that was definitely not celebrating anything, and he turned to run straight back to the anomaly site. 

"Connor!" Becker yelled as he raced back through the trees.  There was no response.  Becker tried to shut the image of the dead pony out of his mind.   It had been torn to shreds, barely recognisable.  That was not going to happen to Connor.  "Connor!"

The truck was still there, the doors closed, the vehicle empty.  There wasn't the slightest sign that anyone had been pulled bodily from it, which meant that Connor hadn't listened to him.  Again.  This time, though, it might have been fatal. 

The clearing where they had found the anomaly was, Becker noticed, much colder than it had been earlier.  As he approached the anomaly, it grew colder, as if the temperature change was coming from the rip in time.  But that was not possible, as a dinosaur had come through, and they lived in much warmer times.  Even Becker, who was no palaeontologist, knew that much.

"Connor?" he called again.  Still there was no reply.  The snow nearer the anomaly was crisper beneath his feet, the top layer crunchy, almost as though it was starting to freeze.  Lying there, in the snow, was a small device Becker hadn't seen before.  It was cracked right across where it had been dropped, broken.  Next to it, stark against the white of the snow, was the unmistakable sight of blood.  Just one small drop, but it was there.  And another, a few inches closer to the anomaly, and another beyond that.

Becker stared at the sparkling light in front of him.  He had never actually gone through one of them before, had always sworn that he never would unless he absolutely had to.  But Connor had been pulled through this one by some creature.  Becker didn't have a great deal of choice.  Bracing himself, he stepped through, then almost staggered backwards when the full blast of the sub-zero temperature on the other side of the anomaly hit him for the first time.

Wherever he was, it was not a warm dino-friendly climate.  The snow around the anomaly had melted a little, but the first step he took brought him knee-deep in the stuff.  He moved to follow the dinosaur's trail, easy to see as it had cut a deep channel through the otherwise pristine snow.

It was incredibly cold.  Just taking a breath hurt, he didn't want to think what sort of temperature it was out there.  He had ventured up close to the Arctic Circle once, in winter, and it had felt like this.  But he had been layered up in ski gear, and ready for it.   The minus two degrees of the New Forest had meant he put a few extra layers on, but not enough to survive long out in this.  Connor, he knew, hadn't put more than a thick jacket on over the clothes he had been wearing in the ARC earlier.  If he had survived the creature attack he was going to freeze.

The creature had not got very far before it had collapsed.  Becker almost tripped over it, the weight of it almost burying it in the treacherous snow-filled ditch that it had fallen into.  It was still alive, barely, and Becker quickly put it out of its misery.  There was no sign of Connor.

Conscious of the time passing, and that Connor was going to freeze if he didn't find him soon, Becker retraced his steps.  There would be a trail, that was the only good thing about all the snow.

"Connor!" he called again.  Still no response.

He was almost back at the anomaly before he saw Connor's trail.  More blood on the snow, bright red spots, harder to see here because of the depth of the snow.  The heat of the blood had melted tiny little wells in the drift.  Small wonder he had missed it the first time he passed.

It looked as though Connor had escaped from the dinosaur almost as soon as they came through the anomaly.  Probably the shock of the sudden terrible cold had been too much for the beast and it had released its prey.  Or Connor had managed to get free because he wasn't badly hurt.  Becker hoped for the second option, though he wondered why Connor hadn't gone back through the anomaly right away.  He had left a trail, not as obvious as the dinosaur's but still a trail, heading towards the trees.

"Connor!" he yelled again, wading through the snow.  It was slower than following the creature had been, each step was an effort.  He had to go fairly carefully, if he stepped into a snowdrift or fell down a hidden bank and broke something then there would be no rescue for either of them.

This time, he thought he heard some sort of reply.  It was more a groan than anything else, but he tried to move faster, seeing a dark shape ahead huddled at the base of one of the trees, half-hidden by the snow.

Connor's face was covered in blood, and Becker immediately feared the worst, but when he reached the other man he found most of the blood was from a gash on his forehead and that aside from large rips and tears in his clothing Connor appeared to be in one piece.

Becker crouched down beside him as best he could in the thick snow.  "Connor?  Connor can you hear me?"

Connor muttered something that sounded like "Cold," and huddled in on himself more.  Becker knew he had to get him out of there before they both froze.  Connor looked pretty close to the onset of hypothermia, he was shivering and starting to turn blue.

"Connor, you've got to get up!" Becker shook him slightly.  "Come on."  There was no response.  Becker sighed, slung his gun over his shoulder, and heaved Connor up in a fireman's lift.

God, he was heavy.  For a skinny little computer geek he was certainly deceptive.  Becker took a step back towards the anomaly, his arms and back already starting to protest.  In the sub-zero temperatures, he didn't have the same energy levels as normal.  The extra weight also meant that he sank even deeper into the snow than before, it was way past his knees now. 

The anomaly seemed a very, very long way off.  It was probably only thirty or forty metres away, but in those temperatures, and with the deep snow, it might as well have been a mile away.

He took another few steps, staggered as his foot twisted in a pothole, and almost dropped Connor.  The fact that not a sound of protest came from the other man scared him, but there was no time to check.  Bowing his head, trying to focus purely on moving forward, he took one laboured step after another, every fibre of his being focused purely on reaching the anomaly and getting back to that warm, dry truck.

The cold was biting into him now, hurting his skin through the material of his trousers.  His uniform was fairly thick, he didn't even want to think about what the cold would be doing to Connor, who was only wearing ordinary denim and a jersey rugby shirt under his jacket, and who had been out there much longer.  At least Connor had listened to Becker enough to find some gloves.  If they got through this... no, he corrected himself, _when_ they got through this, frostbite would be a real possibility for both of them, especially Connor.

They were closer now, perhaps twenty metres to go.  It was so slow, wading through the deep, cold snow.

The anomaly flickered, and Becker felt his stomach lurch in panic.  If it closed now, they were dead.  Connor, silent and motionless over his shoulder, might already be dead.  He could be going through all this to haul back a corpse.  Becker grimaced, it was still better than the way Ryan had been treated.  And anyway, Connor was alive.  It was Becker's job to keep them alive, and he was not going to fail at that again.

He forced himself to concentrate, he had to keep going, keep a clear head.  The tiredness was starting to creep up on him now, his body telling him to stop.  Connor was, it seemed, already unconscious, he wasn't going to suffer further.  It would be a peaceful way to go.  They would probably not know anything about it.

Captain Becker, ex-SAS with a tour in Afghanistan and a string of military honours under his belt, was not going to die lost in a snow drift millions of years in the past.  Angry with the weakness of his body, he found reserves from somewhere and forced himself to stagger on the last few metres, the anomaly a glittering prize in front of him.

It flickered again as they approached, and Becker almost threw himself and his burden through it.  The change in temperature on the other side felt almost balmy in contrast.

Behind them, the anomaly sputtered, then vanished.  Becker ignored it, his only thought was to get Connor to the safety of the truck and then to see how badly he was hurt.

Connor was barely conscious when Becker hauled him into the back seat of the truck, and the chill of the dormant vehicle did nothing to help that.  Becker slammed the doors behind them, turned on the engine and set all the heaters to full blast.  He was half-frozen himself, but Connor was much worse.  If he slipped into a coma now he might never wake up.  Becker wanted to shake him to try to keep him awake, but knew that was the worst thing he could do.  Cold like this could affect the heart.

"Stay awake, Connor," he growled, pulling a few blankets from the back of the truck and wrapping one around his shoulders and another over his head.  The gash on his forehead didn't look that bad when he quickly cleaned it up, it had bled profusely as head wounds always did, but had already closed.  They were both soaked from the waist down from the cold wet snow, and that was far more of a problem.  The wet clothes had to come off, and Connor was in no state to help himself.  Becker reached down and pulled the other man's boots and socks off, undid his belt, then went to unzip his jeans.  

Connor made a small noise that might have been a protest, but Becker ignored it.  He really could do with backup, his own clothes were uncomfortably cold and wet so would have to come off too.  That, combined with the simplest and most obvious form of treatment for hypothermia, meant there was potentially a sexual harassment case just waiting to happen.

Connor's skin was icy cold under the frozen jeans, and Becker quickly wrapped the other blanket around his legs, then pulled his own soaking boots and trousers off.

There were various coveralls in the back of the truck, mostly intended to be protective against anything infectious or radioactive that might come through, but they were all clean and dry, so he donned one then turned his attention back to Connor.  Becker pulled him close, trying to share as much body heat as he could.  Backup would be good, backup from someone who wasn't half-frozen themselves, who could give Connor the warmth he needed.  Or fetch coffee.  There would be a little camping stove back there somewhere, or whoever had last done a stock check on the truck was going to be cleaning the ARC toilets with a toothbrush for a month.  Becker couldn't go out and use that whilst he was still trying to warm Connor.  He was never, ever going to allow just two people to attend to an anomaly ever again, Christmas or not.  At least the heaters in the truck were working fast, it was getting very warm in there. 

Connor's shivering was growing more intense, and Becker hoped that was a good sign.  It had to be better than his almost comatose state when they had first reached the truck.   He tried massaging Connor's arms and legs to get the blood going, and finally felt the shivering calm just a little.  Connor pressed himself closer into the warmth of his body, and Becker could feel the other man's breath hot against his throat.

"Any better?" he asked.

"So cold," Connor muttered.  That was definitely a good sign, he was finally starting to respond.  Becker rubbed Connor's back, hoping to speed the process.  The sooner he could get Connor recovered enough that they could drive out of there and back to civilisation the better.  Connor nestled closer.  Becker knew it had to be a natural reaction to needing the warmth but it really did feel as if his geeky little friend was trying to snuggle up to him.  It felt pretty good, and Becker knew he couldn't allow himself to start to enjoy it.  At any moment Connor might come to his senses and their working relationship would be soured forever.

"You're warm," Connor murmured.  The shivering was definitely calming down now.  Any second now Connor would realise what he was doing and pull away.  But his lips were so close to Becker's throat now that he could feel them... it felt as though Connor had just kissed him, but that was impossible, much like the way Connor's arm was slipping around his waist.  Oh, this was going to go horribly wrong.

"Connor, the cold's making you confused.  I'm not Abby."  There was no response, just the continued burrowing into his warmth, and there was nothing Becker could do about it because it was the quickest way to help him.  "Don't go to sleep," he ordered.

"Like I'd do that now," Connor muttered.  He pressed closer, his head resting under Becker's chin, his face buried in the soldier's neck.  "So cold, don't let go of me, Becker."

That ruled out any confusion on Connor's part, and a few things started to make sense to Becker.  He didn't let go.  The heaters in the truck were making it very warm in there now.  He carried on rubbing at Connor's back, feeling the shivering subside completely as he did so. 

The young scientist was so not his type.  He had to keep telling himself that.  Connor's busy little mouth was nuzzling at his throat, and Becker was having a definite response.  He tried to fight it - he liked fit men who spent hours every day working out.  He liked other soldiers, other alpha males who could stand up to him and made sex a constant exciting battle for dominance, and so what if it didn't make for lasting relationships?  He liked... oh God he liked the way Connor had just shifted in his arms so that he was rubbing against Becker's groin and if Connor kept doing that, he was going to notice the reaction Becker was having to him because those emergency blankets were pretty thin... and it didn't really matter anyway because it had just become apparent to him that Connor was having the same reaction. 

Well, Becker thought, trying to reason it out in his mind, Connor needed to be warmed up, and it wasn't as if anyone was going to disturb them down a remote road in the middle of the New Forest on Christmas Day... but it was a bad idea, because Connor wasn't the type to like one night stands, and Becker was useless at relationships, and they worked together, and when it all went horribly wrong, which Becker knew it would, work would be a very unpleasant place to be. 

But Connor was moving down now, pulling at the thin material of the coveralls and freeing Becker's cock.  Connor hesitated, just for a moment, and Becker could feel the tension as the scientist looked up at him, questioning, a mixture of fear and longing in those dark eyes.  Becker could stop this, right now, if he wanted to.  They shouldn't do this, Connor was in no fit state.  But he must have given some sort of involuntary signal, because Connor grinned back at him from where he was now kneeling on the floor of the truck, and then his mouth was engulfing Becker's cock and whatever doubts he had fled. 

Becker's fingers tangled in Connor's dark hair, stroking encouragingly... not that Connor needed any encouragement as his eager mouth sucked and licked Becker's cock to full hardness at a relentless pace, before taking him deeper into his throat and making a swallowing motion.  That felt so good Becker almost came right then, but he managed to hold back, groaning as Connor repeated the action.   He wasn't going to last long if Connor kept doing that, he could already feel his orgasm building and reasoned thought fled the same way as the doubts as Connor worked him again and again, and he was coming with a harsh cry into the other man's throat, Connor swallowing reflexively. Becker collapsed back on the seat, feeling Connor's mouth still working at his softening cock, greedily taking every last drop of come, while his hands pumped furiously at his own.  

It was an effort to move, but Becker reached down and stilled Connor's hand.  The other man gave an involuntary whimper of distress, but obeyed, staring up at him pleadingly.  That was the moment when Becker realised he could probably get Connor to do anything he wanted.  The thought was tempting, but he tried to put it out of his mind.  Right now he wasn't going to receive a blow job like that and not return the favour.

"Get up here," he growled, pulling Connor back up onto the seat beside him, then pushing him down on his back and lying over him as best he could in the cramped space.  Connor's swollen, leaking cock was pushing desperately at him, and Becker felt him thrust upwards, rubbing himself against Becker's spent cock.  Reaching down, he took Connor in hand, and began to work him in long, firm strokes, never taking his eyes from Connor's face that looked back at him in a dazed wonder as if he couldn't believe quite what was happening to him.   Becker leaned closer, and Connor's mouth opened beneath his, and the little cries of pleasure Connor didn't seem to be able to help making were lost in a deep, tongue-duelling kiss that only ended when Connor jerked and twisted beneath him as he came, hot come spurting up onto Becker's chest.  Connor fell back, panting heavily, his body trembling.

"Next time," Becker whispered, "we do that together."

He was sure Connor gave a little squeak.  "Next time?"

"Give me time to recover, and I'll show you," he promised, drawing up the emergency blankets over them both.   Connor just gazed at him adoringly.  Becker thought he could get used to that.

***

Later, and Becker was sure Connor was almost asleep beneath him.  They had both completely stripped and curled up together on the back seat beneath the emergency blankets.  It was a little cramped, but it was cosy and although Becker was fairly sure he could have safely wrapped Connor up and driven back to London now, he was in no rush.  Connor liked the space blankets, as he called them, and Becker just liked being close to warm flesh.  He was getting sleepy himself, but they did need to get home.  Still, he had one promise to fulfil first. 

"Con?"  he nudged the other man.  "You awake?"

There was a barely audible grumble of assent.  Becker slid his hand over Connor's back, and felt the other man shiver slightly.  This time the cold had nothing to do with it.  He moved lower, caressing a buttock then stroking a finger down Connor's crack before gently probing further in.  That got more of a reaction, Connor moaned slightly, and pushed back against his finger.  Becker knelt up, flipping Connor onto his front, and started to work on his hole, gently working him with one finger to start with, then gradually stretching him out as he went further in.  He had found some cream in the first aid kit which worked well enough as lube, and worked that in.  Connor groaned as a second finger was introduced, pushing back harder than before.  He was on his knees, hips raised, his cock already semi-erect from the penetration of Becker's fingers as they teased and probed at his prostate.  Becker stroked himself fully erect, the sight and feel of that tight little pucker in front of him had already done most of the work, and Connor's wordless moans as he prepared had him aching to just take him already.

"Ready?" he whispered, and Connor just nodded, whatever he said sounded more like a plea than anything coherent.  "You might want to try hanging onto the armrest or something."

Becker held him open then pushed his way inside, groaning at the exquisite tightness.  He pushed further, until his balls were flush against Connor, and then slowly pulled back, thrusting in again, finding the right angle this time.  Connor moaned as Becker drew over his prostate, the stimulation leaving him erect and leaking as Becker thrust into him again and again, nailing the prostate every time. 

Becker could hear Connor groaning and begging beneath him, and that just spurred him on.  He kept a firm grip on Connor's hips with one hand as he rode him, but reached round with his other hand and grabbed hold of Connor's cock, stroking and stimulating him.  Face down on the seat of the truck, Connor was incoherent, his hands scrabbling against the leather trying to find purchase as Becker's thrusts grew harder and faster, until he came with a cry, spurting thickly over Becker's hand and the leather seat.  As Connor clenched around him, Becker followed a moment later, collapsing down on him with a sigh.

"Good?" Becker whispered, rolling Connor over so that he could kiss him.

Connor just nodded, his lips finding Becker's and far too occupied to bother with speech.

***

Later still, Becker had called back to the ARC to tell them the anomaly was closed and that they were done for the day.  He had searched through the back of the truck to find a camping stove and made some coffee in a belated attempt at core warming.  The hot caffeine started to bring Connor out of the sex and cold-fueled stupor he had fallen into, and he gradually related what had happened out in the snow.  Becker listened, until he got to the part about the new device.

"Why would you want to open new anomalies?  Don't we have enough of the things to cope with already?"

"I thought it was going to re-open the first one, but  it opened the one that we went through.  That creature didn't come from there."

Becker grunted.  "Hmm.  Just proves what a stupid idea it was.  Where were we?   The ice age?"

"I don't know.  It doesn't do dates.  But I dropped it when the raptor attacked me."

"It didn't look much like a raptor."

"Oh, you're a dinosaur expert now?"

"I've seen a few!" Becker protested.  "We can put raptor on the report, whatever it was.  It's always raptors."

"That's because they're smarter, they go to investigate the anomalies.  But that anomaly opening device, we need to get it back."

Becker sighed, not just because he thought he was getting the start of a dinosaur lecture.  He pulled his jacket back on over the coveralls, and went to look.  It was starting to get dark, and was colder than before, especially in contrast to the warmth of the truck.  There was no sign of any gadget.

"It must have fallen through the anomaly.  You'll just have to make another one," Becker told him, pouring another hot coffee for himself.  "I still think it's a stupid idea though."

"Maybe," Connor mused.  "That was the prototype.  It'll take a long time to develop another one without it."

"No great loss.  I don't need to freeze again, thanks." He took a sip of coffee, then frowned.  "That reminds me, why didn't you just go straight back through the anomaly?!"

Connor looked sheepish.  "I thought... You don't think much of me, I wanted to show you I'm okay out in the field, I can be brave.  I thought I could lead the creature away from the anomaly, and that it would collapse in the cold, and then I could go back and... I thought you'd be impressed.  I didn't know what being cold like that could do to you, not really.  I thought I did, because of what happened at the ARC when I nearly got infected by that fungus monster thing, but this was a whole different thing.  Moving around in it just sapped my energy.    Sorry.  It was stupid."

"It was.  But brave too.  I'm impressed.  Cold, but impressed." 

Connor curled his hands around the steaming mug of coffee.  "I'm pretty toasty now, I could try warming you up and return the favour if you like?"

"Tempting, but it's getting dark so you'll have to hold that thought till we get home."

"Home?"

"My flat.  I should keep an eye on you, make sure you're really okay."

"Even though I'm okay now?"

"I think you might need warming up again.  Hope you like beer and pizza!"

"Beer and pizza... sounds like the best Christmas dinner ever!" Connor slid down happily in his seat, still nursing the coffee, a contented smile plastered across his face.

Becker started up the truck, the trees ahead looking cold and eerie in the headlamps.  It was starting to snow again.

"It was a white Christmas this year.  Don't suppose you put a bet on?"

Connor perked up again, reminded by that of something more important.  "Ooh, the snow plough!  You said I could use it when we had finished with the anomaly."

"I said maybe."

"Oh, please, you promised!"

"You've nearly frozen to death!"

"That didn't stop you shagging me!"

"I...That's different, you're not fit to drive."

"Please..."

"No."

"Just in the forest."

"No."

"I'll keep on asking..."

"Oh, for God's sake!"  Becker turned the truck so that it was facing the forest road, then stopped the engine and passed Connor the keys.  "Here," he said, as gruffly as he could, because he wasn't giving in, not really, he didn't do that.  And he absolutely did not have a soft spot for the young scientist, and he was never, ever going to let himself be turned into a pushover just because he couldn't resist those big brown eyes when they looked at him pleadingly.  Just to make that completely clear, he added: "And if you crash it, don't think that the whole nearly dying thing is going to stop me making you get out and push."

Connor grabbed the keys delightedly.  It was turning into his best Christmas ever.

***

Miles away, Helen Cutter was examining the interesting new device she had retrieved from beneath the anomaly.  It would be fascinating, she thought, to find out how that worked...

***

 


End file.
